Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Agro-ecological Techniques Lower Production Costs

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 25 2011 (IPS) - Agro-ecological techniques make it possible to produce organic food at a cost that is 84 percent lower than through traditional agricultural methods, according to a research study conducted by the Luiz de Queiroz Higher Institute of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo in Piracicaba, Brazil. The system analysed in the study consists of planting crops in clearings in natural forests. For every 300 metres of forest, areas measuring 25 by 25 metres are used for crop farming. “In this way, the forest biome is preserved and acts as a regulator of pests, doing away with the need for toxic agrochemicals that can raise production costs by as much as 70 percent in traditional farming systems,” head researcher Fábio Leonardo told Tierramérica.

For the study, carried out between 2008 and 2010, tomato crops were planted in the forest clearings by farmers in the southeastern region of the state of São Paulo. This is the leading tomato-producing region in the country, and also forms part of the Mata Atlântica or Atlantic Forest biome.